Reduction gearing apparatus



1943- H. F. SCHMIDT ET AL 2,332,172

REDUCT I ON GEARING APPARATU 5 Filed Sept. 25, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l aINVENTORS HENRY F. Scumo'r, HnRomMSsMnR mm IRR Sweat.

m? l M ATTORNEY Oct. 19, 1943. H. F. SCHMIDT ET AL 2,332,172

REDUCTION GEARING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 25, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 VINVENTORS M Hennvfi Scnmo'nHnnom W. Senna an Inn 'Suom'. BY j WSIMATTORNEY Patented Oct. 19, 1943 UNIT-so smart-2s ear-E NT cler cs.

' Y s 25332472 g v v REDUCTION;GEARINGiAiPBfiRA'DUS;' Henry F;Schmidt/,1 Lansdown'e, HaroIJLWZ S ema r, DrexelHill, and. Ira Short,Prospect'Park, Pa.,

assignors to Westinghouse Electric &- Manufacturing Company, EastPittsburgh; Pan, acor-- porationof Pennsylvaniw I Application September25, 194a,..seh51 N0. 459?,(354.

(Cl. V l -4J0)" 6 Claims.

This invention relates to reduction. gearing, more particularly of themarine propulsion type, and it has for an object to provide apparatus ofthis character having the advantages of simplicity and economy: ofconstruction of thefixed bearing type combined with that. ofself-alignment of the floating frame type.

A further object of the invention is to provide areduction gear whereinthe driven gear is carried by amainframe and the pinionor pinionsmeshing therewith are carried by pinion frames, each pinion frame beingattached at its middle to an arch extending over the driven gear. andsecured at its lower ends to the main frame and the terminal portions ofthe pinion frame being connected to the gear bearings by struts arrangedin the line of centers of the meshing gear and pinion, together withcasing. means cooperating with the frames and with the arch. to enclosethe gearing and constructed and arranged to provide for tangentialmovement of each..pin-

ion in order that tooth alignment of the latter with respect to the gearmay be maintained.

These and other objects are effected by the invention as will beapparent from the fol1owing description and claims taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is an end elevation of the improved gearing with parts shown insection and taken along the line II of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the gearing;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line IIIIII of Fig. 1;

Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are sectional detail views taken along the lines'IVIV,V--V, and VIVI, respectively, of Fig. 3; and

Figs. 7 and 8 are sectional detail views taken along the lines VII-VIIand VIII'-V1'II, respectively, of Fig. 1.

As shown in the drawings, the gearing includes a driven gear I!) adaptedto be connected to any suitable element to be driven, for example, aships propeller. The gear has a pair of rims provided with opposedhelical teeth H,

H meshingwith rows of opposed helical teethv 12, 12 of the pinion I3,While, as shown in Fig.

1, there are two 'pinions 13 arranged above the horizontal plane of thegear axis and to either side of the vertical plane thereof, itis tobe'understood that the invention is applicable to. arran ementsemploying one. or more, piniens.

The gear L0. has-journal portions; 14;: fitting: 55

bearing s: IBWcarriedxby'. thefmain frame, at it,

the. lattercomprising. any suitable side struc tures I1 andcrossbeamstructures l8 providing a bedplateor foundation carrying thebearings l;5*--andr adapted-.tosupport the gear cover and thepinion.-frames in themannerto bedescribed.

Each. pinionhas" a: middle journal portion 29 and end. jcurnal portions21;, 2| cooperating, respectively, with a middle bearing 23 and endbearing 24,.24,carried by apinionframe, at 25.

Each:- pinion framev is: constructed and. arranged: seas to haveadequatestiffness-in tangential; and-radial planesy .To this end, each frame: iscomprised by a-baseplate 26 which. is relatively wide in a tangentialdirection and by a cap member or structureaZ T having the necessarydepth in; a radial direction. to. give stiffness in. radial-' and;tangential. planes.

Preferably, each-basep1ate126 has. side flanges 28? giving additional.strength andv stiffness in a tangential direction and; the cap member 21has a portion 29 extending. outwardly so. as to give the necessaryradial stiffness.

Each pinion frame, at-ZE', is attached at its middle to an arch beam atextending over the gear and; arranged: between the rows of teethH=,,l;lathereof, theilower ends" of the arch beam beingfirmly'anchored', asiindicated-at 3!, to the mainframe, at F6; The arch'beam is preferalily of fabricated construction, it being comprised: by:an. arcuate Web 32' having inner and outierflangesx 3.3 and 34- weldedthereto. The

web 3zaisz'disposed radially with respect to the gear and: the pinion.

The. arch: is formed to provide seats for the middle portions'ofthe'pinion frames, at 25. To this end, theouter flange 34 has-asection-thereof: corresponding to-the width of the baseplate 26':removed and the web is shaped to fit the inner surface of the baseplate,as shown in Figsy3" and i. Having in'this way formed the arch with seat"portions for the-pinion frames, the latter: are welded both tothe outerflange 3 5 and to the -Web'32 of the arch.

The end portionsof eachpinion frame, that is, the portions thereofcarryingthebearings 24, areconnected by 'tensionstruts 35 to the gearbearingsii, the struts being'arranged in the axial plane of the gearand: of" the pinion.

' The-structure sofa'rdescribed supports the gearing; withstands alloperating stresses, and provides for tangential movement of the pinionsin order to maintain"t'ootfr'alignmenti'of the latter-withrespecttothegear." The main frame or bedplate construction; at t6; supports theTo this end, it will be noted that the tension struts 35 are relativelywide inan axial direction and relatively thin in a radial direction,whereby they have the necessary flexibility in the direction requiredfor movement of the pinion frame. As described, the arch has a sectionwhose moment of inertiawith respect to an axis parallel to the gear axisis relatively large and has a moment of inertia at right angles theretowhich is relatively small. Therefore, the arch has considerable radialstiffness, while being capable of flexing laterally to permit of thenecessary angular movement of the pinion frame to maintain toothalignment.

Casing elements cooperate with the main frame, at It, the pinion frames,at 25, and'with the arch 30 in order to enclose the gearing. As shown,longitudinal casing elements 36 have their adjacent ends formed withoutwardly-extending flanges 31 welded to the outer flange 34 of the archand the outer ends of the longitudinal plates are joined to end plates38. In order that the gearing may be enclosed while permitting ofself-aligning movement of the pinion frames, it is necessary that thecasing shall have flexible portions permitting of this movement.Therefore, the tension struts 35 are positioned so as to extendoutwardly beyond the outer face of the end plates 38 and triangularplates 39 are connected to the inner surfaces of the pinion frames atthe outer ends thereof .and extend inwardly so that their apices arearranged in axial planes of the gear and the pinion, each plate 39preferably fitting flush against the outer edge of its adjacent tensionstrut 35.

The longitudinal wall elements 36 have portions 49 (Fig. 5) arranged inaxial planes and connected to the sides of the baseplate at either sideof the arch 3i] and each triangular plate 39 is connected to the endplate 38 by portions 4! also arranged in axial planes. Thus, it will beseen that the casing portions and 4| are properly disposed so as to flexto accommodate self-aligning movement of the pinion frame.

Preferably, the flexible casing portions 40 and iii not only arearranged in axial planes but also in planes which pass through theapices of the triangular plates 39. Therefore, while the triangularcasing structure at each end of each pinion frame is comparativelyrigid, it is, at the same time, flexibly connected to the main body ofthe casing, and as the triangular plates 39 and the radial planes of theflexible portions 40 and ii have a common apical axis, it will beapparent that, in operation, each triangular structure will rock aboutthe apices at 43.

The structure has so far been described from the point of view ofsupporting moving parts in proper relation, of resisting working faces,providing alignment accommodation and enclosing the gearing. As it iscustomary with apparatus of this kind to provide a housing made up of amain portion or body and a'cover detachably con: nected thereto, themain frame, at 16, comprises an essential part of such main portion orbody and it is provided with a horizontal flange or seat 45 with whichmates the cover flange 46. The lower ends of the arch and the loweredges of longitudinal and end plates are attached to the flange 46, andthe bolts 41 constitute the means by which the flanges are securedtogether and thereby the lower ends of the arch are anchored to the mainframe, at [6.

While the invention has been shown in but one form, it will be obviousto those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but issusceptible .of various changes and modifications without departing fromthe spirit thereof, and it is desired, therefore, that only suchlimitations shall be placed. thereupon as are specifically set forth inthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a reduction gear, gearing comprising a meshing pinion and gear, amain frame, bearings for the gear carried by the main frame, a pinionframe, bearings for the ends of the pinion carried by the pinion frame,tension members connecting the pinion and gear bearings and providingfor movement of the pinion frame and of the pinion carried thereby in atangential plane to align the pinion teeth with the gear teeth, and wallelements cooperating with the main frame and with the pinion frame tocomplete the enclosure for the gearing, said wall elements includingportions capable of flexing to accommodate for said movement of thepinion frame and the pinion in a tangential plane.

2. In a reduction gear, gearing comprising a meshing pinion and gear, amain frame, bear-- ings for the gear carried by the main frame, an archbeam extending over the gear midway oi the length of the latter andhaving its ends attached to the main frame, a pinion frame attached atits middle to the arch beam, end and intermediate bearings for thepinion carried by the pinion frame, tension members connecting the endpinion bearings to the gear bearings and providing for movement of thepinion frame and the pinion carried thereby in a tangential plane, andWall elements cooperating with the main and pinion. frames and with thearch beam to complete the enclosure for the gearing, said wall elementsincluding portions capable of flexing to accommoda for said movement ofthe pinion frame and pinion in a tangential plane,

3. The combination as claimed in claim 2 wherein the section of the archbeam has a atively large moment of inertia with respect-to an axisparallel to the pinion and gear axes and a relatively much smallermoment of inertia with respect to an axis at right angles thereto inorder that the beam may be relatively stiff in a radial direction andflexible in a dir ction transverse thereto.

In a reduction gear, gearing comprising meshing pinion and gear; a mainframe; bearings for the gear carried by the main frame; an arch beamextending over the gear midway of the length of the latter and havingits ends attached to the main frame; a pinion frame having its middleattached to the arch beam; end and intermediate bearings for the pinioncarried by the pinion frame; tension members connecting the pinion endhearings to the gear beari. gs; and wall means cooperating with the mainand pinion frames and with said arch beam to form an enclosure forthegearing; said wall including main longitudinal and end plates,triangular plates joined to the ends of the pinion frame and havingtheir apices directed inwardly and in the plane of the pinion and gearmember axes, and connecting portions joining the side edges of thepinion frame to the longitudinal plates and the converging side edges ofthe triangular plates to the side end plates; said connecting portionsbeing arranged in planes parallel to the pinion and'gear axes and thosejoined to the side edges of the pinion frame having their planesextending transversely with respect to the tangential plane of thelatter.

5. In a reduction gear, gearing comprising a meshing pinion and gear; amain frame; bearings for the gear carried by the main frame; an archbeam extending over the gear midway of the length of the latter andhaving-its ends attached to the main frame; a pinion frame having itsmiddle attached to the arch beam; end and intermediate bearings for thepinioncarried by the pinion frameytension members connecting I thepinion end bearings to the gear bearings;

and wall means cooperating with the. main and pinion frames and withsaidarch beam to form an enclosure for the gearing; said wall means in--cluding main longitudinal and end plates, triangular plates joined tothe ends .of the pinion frame and having their apices directed inwardlyplates and the converging side edges of thetriangular plates to the sideend plates; said connecting portions being arranged in planes which.

are parallel to the gear and pinion member axes and which include theapices of the triangular plates in order that they may affordflexibility accommodating for movement of the pinion frame and pinion ina tangential plane.

6. In a reduction gear, gearing comprising meshing pinion and gear, amain frame, bearings for the gear carried by the main frame, an

arch beam extending over the gear midway of the length of the latter andhaving its ends attached to the main frame, said arch beam having asection Whose radial depth dimension is relatively much greater than itstransverse width dimension to provide for radial stiffness and lateralflexibility, a pinion frame attached at its middle to the arch beam, endand intermediate bearings forthe pinion carried by the pinion frame,tension struts connecting the pinion and bearings to the gear bearings,each of said struts having a section of a larger dimension in adirection parallel to the pinion and gear axes than in a direction atright angles thereto, and wall means cooperating with the main andpinion frames and with said arch beam to enclose the gearing, said wallmeans including"portions Which'are flexible to accommodate for movementof the pinion frame and pinion in a tangential plane. HENRY F.SCI-Ill/IIDT. HAROLD W. SEMAIL IRA SHORT.

